Skin cancer deaths rise due to holiday sun

Holidaymakers have been given a stark warning to stay out of the sun or face a hugely increased risk of skin cancer.

Some of the country's most eminent scientists warned that the British habit of sunbathing for hours at a time is beginning to take an appalling toll in lives.

Deaths from the worst form of skin cancer have more than trebled over the past 40 years because people are oblivious to the dangers, they said.

Figures released yesterday showed there are now 1,550 deaths each year in England and Wales from melanoma, compared with only 400 in the 1960s.

Even high-altitude winter sports holidays can expose the skin to high levels of harmful ultraviolet rays, because snow reflects radiation.

Scientists from the Government's radiation watchdog body also believe damage caused by UV radiation from over-exposure to the sun causes cataracts and other eye damage.

They said warnings about the dangers should be given on board aircraft heading to sunny destinations.

Sir Richard Doll, chairman of the National Radiological Protection Board - the scientist who discovered the link between smoking and lung cancer - chaired the NRPB's first review into scientific evidence on the damaging effects of UV radiation since 1995.

He said last night: 'Sunshine holidays abroad are, I'm sure, the main cause of the increase.'

And he warned against relying too heavily on sunscreens to protect against burning, adding that many travellers seem to regard them as an excuse to lie in the sun all day.

The NRPB report shows that skin cancers account for about 1.4 per cent of all cancer deaths in the UK. Eighty per cent are caused by melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer.

The rest are caused by squamous cell carcinoma - which affects 7,200 people in Britain every year and kills about 440 - and basal cell carcinoma, which is diagnosed in nearly 29,000 people a year.

UV is also implicated in macular degeneration, an incurable eye disorder that affects two million people in the UK and is the leading cause of blindness.

The experts also condemned the use of sunbeds and tanning lamps, which expose the skin to intense bursts of radiation.

Professor Anthony Swerdlow, of the Institute of Cancer Research in Sutton, Surrey, who chaired the NRPB's expert group, said: 'Sunbeds involve an intense, intermittent, deliberate exposure of parts of the body that are not normally exposed. That is exactly the type of exposure that causes melanoma. 'Experts agree that the rising rates of skin and eye disease are due to sun exposure and the increase is large.

'In Scotland, new cases of melanoma have quadrupled since the 1960s, and there has been a similar increase in England and Wales.'

There is particular concern over the effects of sun exposure on children, he added.

It is up to parents to ensure their youngsters are covered up with hats and protective clothing, and use sunscreens, said the professor.

The scientists repeated warnings that fair-skinned people and those with a large number of moles are most at risk.

Peter Lapsley, chief executive of the Skin Care Campaign, said: 'Greater exposure to UV radiation early in life can lead to an increased risk of melanoma in adulthood.'